The Metropolitan Museum of Art

A New York nonprofit art museum whose encyclopedic collections present more than 5,000 years of global artistic achievement.

Last updated October 14, 2026

Overview

The Metropolitan Museum of Art, commonly known as The Met, is a nonprofit art museum in New York City and one of the world's most extensive encyclopedic museums. Its main building occupies Fifth Avenue beside Central Park, while The Met Cloisters in northern Manhattan presents medieval European art and architecture. The institution's collection is organized across specialized curatorial departments covering areas including ancient Egypt, the ancient Near East, Greece and Rome, European painting and sculpture, American art, Asian art, Islamic art, African art, Oceanic and Indigenous American art, arms and armor, musical instruments, photographs, drawings and prints, modern and contemporary art, and costume. The museum also maintains conservation, scientific research, library, education, publication, retail, and digital programs. The museum was incorporated in 1870 after a group of civic leaders, financiers, artists, and intellectuals sought to create an institution that would make art and art education available to the public. It opened on February 20, 1872, at a temporary location on Fifth Avenue. John Taylor Johnston, a railway executive and art collector, became its first president and contributed works from his own collection. The museum moved to its permanent Central Park location in 1880, where the complex expanded repeatedly over the following century. Its growth was driven by acquisitions, archaeological fieldwork, bequests, purchases, and donations from major collectors and foundations. The Met's identity rests on breadth rather than a single national or historical tradition. Visitors can encounter Egyptian temple architecture, Chinese gardens and painting, Japanese armor and prints, European Old Master works, American decorative arts, modern painting, ceremonial objects, textiles, musical instruments, and contemporary commissions within the same institution. The museum's galleries often use architecture, reconstructed interiors, contextual displays, and cross-cultural interpretation to connect objects with the societies that produced and used them. Among its best-known installations are the Temple of Dendur, a Roman-period Egyptian temple presented in a purpose-built gallery, and The Met Cloisters, whose buildings, gardens, stained glass, sculpture, manuscripts, and tapestries create a medieval setting. The institution operates through a mixed nonprofit model. It relies on philanthropy, endowment and investment income, membership, admissions, retail, publishing, exhibitions, public support, and other earned and contributed revenue. For many years it used a suggested-admission model for New York residents and visitors, but financial pressures and changing attendance patterns contributed to a revised admissions policy in 2018 requiring admission from visitors who do not qualify for the resident benefit. The museum has also used debt financing for capital work, including a reported 2015 taxable-bond issue for infrastructure and expansion. Such financing and major building programs have periodically prompted debate about operating costs, institutional priorities, and the balance between public access and financial sustainability. The Met is both a public-facing cultural institution and an international intellectual brand. Its exhibitions, scholarly catalogues, educational programs, fashion presentations, digital collection resources, social-media presence, and licensed merchandise extend its reach beyond the buildings in New York. In China and other markets, third-party partners have licensed The Met name and collection imagery for consumer products and online retail. These commercial activities support brand recognition but remain secondary to the museum's core purposes: collecting, preserving, researching, interpreting, and sharing art.

History

The Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York in 1870 after civic leaders, businesspeople, artists, and intellectuals proposed an institution devoted to art, research, and public education. The founding charter connected the museum to both the study of fine art and the practical application of art in everyday life. John Taylor Johnston, a railway executive and collector, became the first president and supplied part of the early collection. The museum opened to the public on February 20, 1872, in a building at 681 Fifth Avenue. The young institution quickly outgrew its temporary premises. New York City provided land beside Central Park, and the museum moved to its present location in 1880. The Fifth Avenue complex developed through successive building campaigns rather than a single architectural plan. Collections grew through purchases, gifts, bequests, and archaeological activity. Luigi Palma di Cesnola, the museum's first director, helped expand the collection substantially, particularly through Cypriot antiquities. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, wealthy collectors and philanthropic families became important sources of paintings, decorative arts, ancient objects, and works on paper. The museum's collecting strategy gradually became encyclopedic. Departments were created for Egyptian art, classical antiquities, European painting, American art, Asian art, Islamic art, arms and armor, musical instruments, textiles, photographs, drawings and prints, and other fields. The museum also developed conservation laboratories, libraries, scholarly publications, lecture programs, concerts, and educational services. Its approach combined the public mission of a civic museum with a governance and fundraising structure supported heavily by private philanthropy. Egyptian archaeology was central to the museum's international profile. Beginning in 1906, The Met participated in archaeological work in Egypt for several decades. After the construction of the Aswan High Dam threatened ancient monuments, Egypt presented the Temple of Dendur to the United States, and the temple was installed in a dedicated gallery that opened in 1978. The museum also expanded its medieval program beyond Fifth Avenue. The Cloisters, created in northern Manhattan and opened in 1938, brought together medieval architectural elements, sculpture, stained glass, manuscripts, metalwork, and gardens in a setting designed for the study and presentation of medieval art. The twentieth century brought further expansion and institutional specialization. Major gifts, including the Robert Lehman Collection, strengthened the museum's holdings of European paintings and decorative arts. The Costume Institute became part of The Met in 1937 and developed into one of the world's most visible fashion collections and exhibition programs. The Michael C. Rockefeller Wing, opened in 1982, supported the presentation of arts from Africa, Oceania, and the Americas. The museum's centennial celebrations, held across an extended period around 1970, combined exhibitions, performances, lectures, public programs, and renovated galleries. In the twenty-first century, The Met confronted the costs of maintaining a very large campus while pursuing ambitious contemporary-art and infrastructure projects. Thomas P. Campbell led the institution from 2009 until 2017, when he departed after financial difficulties and governance criticism. Daniel H. Weiss subsequently served as president and chief executive officer, while Max Hollein became director in 2018 and later assumed the combined director and chief executive role. From 2016 to 2020, The Met operated The Met Breuer, a temporary modern and contemporary art location in the former Whitney Museum building. The venue increased visibility for contemporary programming but also intensified debate about capital commitments and institutional focus. The museum's finances depend on a diversified nonprofit model that includes donations, membership, admissions, endowment-related income, retail, exhibitions, public support, and financing for capital projects. A 2015 taxable-bond issue was reported in connection with infrastructure and expansion. In 2018, The Met changed its admission arrangements for visitors who are not New York residents, replacing the previous general suggested-admission practice for that group with required admission. The change illustrated the continuing tension between universal access and the cost of operating a museum of global scale. Collection provenance and restitution have become increasingly important to the institution's public responsibilities. The museum has investigated objects linked to illicit trafficking and has returned works where legal ownership or acquisition history was found to be problematic, including 14 antiquities returned to Cambodia in 2024. It has also faced public criticism about representation, cultural property, donor influence, and its response to contemporary political crises. In 2024, protests connected the museum's trustees and corporate relationships with calls for a public response to the destruction of cultural heritage during the Gaza war. These controversies form part of a broader institutional challenge: preserving the authority of a historic encyclopedic museum while making its collecting, governance, interpretation, and public commitments more transparent and inclusive. Today, The Met remains a major museum, research institution, publisher, educator, tourist destination, and digital platform. Its principal brand assets are the breadth of its collection, the authority of its scholarship, the architecture of its campuses, and the ability to translate art history into exhibitions, programs, imagery, and educational experiences for a global audience. The Metropolitan Museum of Art was incorporated in New York in 1870 during a period when civic leaders, educators and philanthropists were promoting museums as instruments of public instruction and cultural development. The institution’s early purpose was not limited to preserving elite collections; it was conceived as a broad educational museum that could place art, historical objects and technical knowledge before a growing urban population. The museum initially operated in temporary or borrowed premises before moving to its present Fifth Avenue site beside Central Park. The main building developed over successive phases rather than according to a single completed plan. Its expansion reflects the growth of the collection and the changing expectations placed on a universal museum. New galleries, wings and public facilities were added over many decades, allowing the institution to accommodate increasingly varied collections and larger audiences. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, The Met expanded from a relatively general art museum into an encyclopedic institution. Collecting broadened across European paintings and sculpture, American art, antiquities, decorative arts, musical instruments, arms and armor, textiles, prints, photographs and art from Asia, Africa, Oceania and the Islamic world. The museum’s curatorial departments, conservation programs and library supported increasingly specialized research while the public galleries translated that expertise into visitor experiences. The Cloisters became an important part of the institution’s identity. Located in Fort Tryon Park, the branch incorporates architectural elements from European medieval buildings and presents art from the Middle Ages in a setting designed to connect objects, architecture and landscape. Together, the Fifth Avenue museum and The Cloisters gave The Met an unusually wide geographic and chronological range. The institution’s twentieth-century development was marked by major exhibitions, acquisitions, building campaigns and the professionalization of museum practice. Directors including William H. Goodyear, Robert W. de Forest, Francis Henry Taylor, James Rorimer, Thomas Hoving, Philippe de Montebello and their successors oversaw different phases of expansion. The museum became a leading venue for scholarly exhibitions and a prominent publisher of catalogues and research, while its shops developed into a substantial consumer-facing extension of the brand. Under Philippe de Montebello, who served as director for more than three decades, the museum consolidated its reputation for curatorial depth, conservation and ambitious collecting. Thomas P. Campbell followed him as director and later chief executive, during a period that included the opening of the renovated American Wing, major capital projects and growing attention to digital access. Daniel H. Weiss subsequently led the institution as president and chief executive, including through the operational and financial pressures associated with the COVID-19 pandemic. Max Hollein became director in 2018 and later assumed the chief executive role. His tenure has involved strengthening the museum’s public profile, developing exhibitions and digital programs, and managing the institution’s recovery from pandemic disruption. The Met has used digital collection records, online publications, video, social media and immersive media to reach people beyond New York. The Met 360 Project demonstrated how virtual tours could turn the museum’s architecture and galleries into internationally distributed cultural content. Audience development has become a central part of the museum’s modern history. The institution has promoted itself not only as a destination for international tourism but also as a local civic resource. Its “Meet Again at The Met” campaign in 2021 addressed reopening and reconnection after pandemic shutdowns. The 2023 “Go to The Met” campaign used real New Yorkers and extensive local placements to encourage residents to visit, with messaging about the museum’s accessibility and variety. The Met’s current identity therefore rests on several connected functions: it is a collecting museum, exhibition producer, research center, educational organization, publisher, retailer and digital platform. Its continuing growth has also brought scrutiny over provenance, cultural property, restitution, repatriation, representation and the balance between access and stewardship. These issues are part of the responsibilities of a museum with a global collection and a large public profile.

2024
Cambodian antiquities returned
[14]Cambodian antiquities returnedmetmuseum.org
The museum announced the return of 14 objects to Cambodia after provenance review.
2023
“Go to The Met” campaign launches
[10]The Met invites New Yorkers to “Go to The Met”metmuseum.org
A New York-focused multimedia campaign presents The Met as a hometown resource and invites local residents to return to the museum.
2021
“Meet Again at The Met” campaign launches
[11]“Meet Again at The Met” campaignshortyawards.com
The museum launches a paid video campaign to welcome audiences back after pandemic-related closures and to support a more diverse local audience.
2020
The Met Breuer closes
[5]The Met Breuer — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The temporary contemporary-art venue ended its operation before the planned end of its lease.
2018
Admission policy changes
[3]Visitor Guidelinesmetmuseum.org
Mandatory admission was introduced for visitors who were not New York residents, ending the previous general suggested-admission arrangement for that group.
2018
Max Hollein becomes director
[17]Max Hollein becomes directormetmuseum.org
Max Hollein is appointed director and later becomes chief executive officer.
2016
The Met Breuer opens
[5]The Met Breuer — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
The museum began a temporary modern and contemporary art program in the former Whitney building.
2009
Thomas P. Campbell becomes director
[16]Thomas P. Campbell becomes directormetmuseum.org
Thomas P. Campbell succeeds Philippe de Montebello as director, beginning a new leadership period focused on collections, capital projects and digital access.
1982
Michael C. Rockefeller Wing opens
[2]The Metropolitan Museum of Art — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
A major wing for African, Oceanic, and ancient American art opened at the Fifth Avenue campus.
1978
Temple of Dendur gallery opens
[4]The Temple of Dendurmetmuseum.org
The Met opened a purpose-built gallery for the Egyptian Temple of Dendur.

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Products and positioning

A globally recognized, encyclopedic nonprofit museum combining scholarship, conservation, public education, landmark exhibitions, and cultural retail. An encyclopedic, publicly oriented art museum that connects global artistic heritage with contemporary audiences through collections, exhibitions, scholarship, education, retail and digital media.

Main museum campus · 1880
The Met Fifth Avenue
The principal Fifth Avenue museum presents the institution's encyclopedic holdings across ancient, medieval, Asian, Islamic, European, American, African, Oceanic, Indigenous American, modern, and contemporary art. Its galleries include period rooms, reconstructed architectural settings, specialized study areas, temporary exhibitions, public programs, shops, dining, and research facilities. The campus is both the museum's primary visitor destination and its most recognizable physical expression.
Medieval art branch · 1938
The Met Cloisters
Located in Fort Tryon Park, The Cloisters combines medieval architectural elements with galleries devoted to sculpture, stained glass, manuscripts, metalwork, textiles, and devotional art. Its chapels, cloisters, gardens, and period-style spaces are designed to give visitors an architectural and sensory context for medieval European works. The branch also supports concerts, education, scholarship, and seasonal public programs.
Fashion collection and exhibitions · 1937
The Costume Institute
The Costume Institute preserves and studies clothing and accessories from different cultures and periods. Because many textiles and garments are light-sensitive and structurally fragile, the collection is presented through rotating exhibitions rather than continuous display. Its annual fashion exhibition and benefit have made the institute one of The Met's most visible public-facing programs and a significant bridge between art history, design, popular culture, and luxury fashion.
Digital collection and education
Online Collection
The Met's digital platform provides collection records, images, essays, timelines, exhibition material, educational resources, visitor planning information, and selected open-access content. It extends the museum's research and teaching mission beyond New York and allows audiences to explore objects that are not currently on view. The platform is a major part of the museum's international reach and contemporary public-service strategy. The museum’s digital collection platform provides object information, images and related research resources to remote users. It supports discovery and education for audiences who cannot visit the physical museum and complements gallery interpretation.
Publishing and cultural retail
Museum publications and licensed merchandise
The museum publishes catalogues, scholarly studies, periodicals, and educational material, while its shops sell books, reproductions, design objects, apparel, stationery, jewelry, and other products inspired by works in the collection. In international markets, third-party operators have used licensing arrangements to develop products and online retail around The Met name and collection imagery. These activities translate the museum's visual identity into consumer-facing formats without replacing its nonprofit cultural mission.
Publishing
Exhibition catalogues
Books produced to accompany temporary exhibitions, usually combining curatorial essays, object entries, high-quality reproductions and bibliographies. They serve visitors and collectors while also functioning as lasting scholarly records of exhibitions that may not remain on view.
Publishing
Collection catalogues and scholarly books
Research publications document individual works, departments, artists, periods and collecting areas. These titles extend The Met’s curatorial and conservation work beyond the galleries and are used by researchers, educators and art professionals.
Retail
Museum-shop merchandise
The Met’s retail assortment includes art books, reproductions, jewelry, home objects, stationery, apparel and gifts based on works and design motifs from the collection. The shops operate as both a commercial channel and an interpretive extension of the museum.

Controversies

2024
Protests over Gaza, trustee interests, and cultural-heritage response
During the Gaza war, protesters criticized the museum over alleged investment links involving trustees and defense contractor Raytheon, and over what they viewed as insufficient public comment on damage to cultural heritage. Employees also called for a formal institutional statement and greater visibility for Palestinian art held in storage. The episode raised questions about institutional neutrality, trustee responsibility, and how encyclopedic museums respond to current conflicts.
Source

2023Go to The Met
New York City · New York State · New Jersey · Connecticut
The multimedia campaign featured regular New Yorkers explaining why they visit The Met. It appeared across social media, streaming television, print, radio, YouTube, subway placements and LinkNYC screens, and highlighted the museum’s pay-what-you-wish policy for eligible regional residents and students.
Outcome. The campaign aimed to rebuild attendance and encourage both new and returning local visitors.
Source
2021Meet Again at The Met
New York City · Northeastern United States · United States
The campaign used video of masked visitors enjoying the museum after reopening to frame The Met as a welcoming place for reconnection. Distribution included YouTube, Facebook, connected television, Hulu and arts and culture websites.
Outcome. The campaign supported reopening communications, local audience development and the museum’s effort to diversify visitors.
Source
2019The Met licensed retail presence in China
China
A Chinese cultural-brand operator brought The Met's licensed intellectual property to online retail and merchandise development, including products based on collection themes and museum imagery. The model combined licensing, product development, retail, marketing, and offline cultural activities.
Outcome. The campaign increased consumer access to The Met-branded cultural products in China and demonstrated how a major museum could extend its identity through controlled licensing.
Source
1997Targeted marketing for major exhibitions
United States
The Met used focused metropolitan-area and ethnic marketing to publicize exhibitions including “The Glory of Byzantium” and “Splendors of Imperial China.” The approach reflected a broader shift toward more targeted museum promotion and more efficient use of nonprofit marketing budgets.
Outcome. The campaign helped establish targeted audience marketing as part of the museum’s communications practice.
Source
1995Metropolitan Museum of Art Shops national advertising campaign
United States
The Met promoted its network of museum shops during the holiday retail season, positioning the stores as sources of accessible, elegant gifts and emphasizing that purchases supported the museum. The campaign responded to growing competition from commercial museum-themed retailers.
Outcome. The campaign increased the visibility of The Met’s retail operation at a time when museum shops were competing with expanding for-profit alternatives.
Source

Brand decisions

2026
Planned integration of Neue Galerie New YorkM&A
Background
The Met and Neue Galerie New York announced an agreement intended to bring the neighboring museum’s German and Austrian modernist collection and Fifth Avenue site into The Met’s institutional structure.
Action taken
The parties plan to complete the merger in 2028, preserve the Neue Galerie’s building and visitor identity, and operate it under a name incorporating The Met and Ronald S. Lauder, subject to required approvals.
Aftermath
If completed, the transaction would strengthen an area in which The Met has historically had less depth and would add a closely related Upper East Side cultural venue to its operating sphere.
Source
2024
Return Cambodian antiquities after provenance reviewOther
Background
Investigations into the ownership histories of Southeast Asian antiquities identified objects associated with illicit-trafficking concerns.
Action taken
The museum returned 14 objects to the Cambodian government and publicized the restitution.
Aftermath
The return reinforced the museum's provenance and restitution work while keeping collection history and due diligence under public scrutiny.
Source
2018
Change admission policy for non-residentsPrice change
Background
Rising operating costs, financial pressure, and a decline in the proportion of visitors voluntarily paying the suggested amount challenged the sustainability of the previous admission model.
Action taken
The museum required admission from visitors who were not New York residents, while maintaining a different policy for eligible New York residents.
Aftermath
The change strengthened the museum's admission revenue model but prompted debate about public access and the obligations of a major civic cultural institution.
Source
2015
Issue taxable bonds for capital workStrategy
Background
The museum faced the long-term cost of maintaining and expanding a very large campus and announced financing for infrastructure and expansion work.
Action taken
The Met issued taxable bonds reported at $250 million to support capital projects over the following decade.
Aftermath
The financing supported long-term capital planning but also contributed to public discussion about debt, operating costs, and the scale of expansion.
Taxable bond issue. 250000000 USD (2015)
Source

Recent events

2026
The Metropolitan Museum of Art and Neue Galerie announce planned merger[12]The Met and Neue Galerie merger reportingtheartnewspaper.com
M&A
The two neighboring New York institutions announced plans for the Neue Galerie to become part of The Met in 2028 while retaining its Fifth Avenue location, programming identity and Viennese-style visitor experience, subject to approvals.
2024
The Met returns Cambodian antiquities[14]Cambodian antiquities returnedmetmuseum.org
Other · Regulation
The museum announced the return of 14 objects to Cambodia following provenance investigations concerning material associated with the dealer Douglas Latchford network.
2023
The Met launches the “Go to The Met” local advertising campaign[10]The Met invites New Yorkers to “Go to The Met”metmuseum.org
Campaign
A multimedia campaign used authentic New York visitors and local media to encourage residents to return to, or newly discover, the museum. The campaign highlighted the pay-what-you-wish admission policy available to eligible regional residents and students.
2021
The Met promotes post-pandemic return through “Meet Again at The Met”[11]“Meet Again at The Met” campaignshortyawards.com
Campaign
The museum’s first paid video campaign invited New Yorkers back after pandemic closures and presented the museum as a safe, welcoming place for shared cultural experiences.
2018
The Met changes its admission policy[3]Visitor Guidelinesmetmuseum.org
Pricing · Other
The museum ended its broadly available pay-what-you-wish admission arrangement for non-New York residents and introduced mandatory admission for those visitors.
2017
Thomas P. Campbell announces his departure[14]Cambodian antiquities returnedmetmuseum.org
Leadership change · Other
Campbell announced that he would leave the museum after a period marked by financial pressure, restructuring, and debate over expansion priorities.
2016
The Met Breuer opens as a modern and contemporary art venue[5]The Met Breuer — Wikipediaen.wikipedia.org
Product launch · Other
The museum began operating a temporary Upper East Side venue in the former Whitney Museum building, expanding its modern and contemporary program.

Sources19 sources

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